from the first local station with news in high definition, this is the 9news now. >> hello and welcome to 9news now at noon. i'm jc hayward. president obama is hitting the road again. he is trying to drive home his

healthcare reform package. joel brown reports while the president is demanding quick action, there is gridlock in congress. >> president obama is making one final push for healthcare reform. he's visiting a school in st. louis. his second campaign style trip this week. as he pressures congress to pass legislation in the next eight days. the president will focus today's speech on cracking down on fraud, before he leaves, he'll sign an executive order to track down medicaid and medicare fraud. the auditors will use technology to catch cheaters. but the president still faces an uphill battle as he twists arms to get a healthcare reform bill passed before he leaves for asia. he needs to get americans on board. >> they don't want it, it's that simple. >> the president is trying to get the house to sign off on the senate approved bill, which would get something on his desk quickly and as long as he can get his own party on board,

republicans won't have a say. democratic leaders say they are waiting for a final cost analysis before calling a vote. but they are holding out until they can get the votes they need. >> to fail to pass to get healthcare reform is to invite higher deficits in the future. >> while most people want to see improvements, americans don't like the way the debate is playing out in washington. joel brown, cbs news, washington. the case involving former congressman, eric masa is getting weird. the new york democrat quit on monday over alleged ethics violations. this is what he said yesterday on fox news channel. >> now they are saying i groped a male staffer. yeah, i did. not only i groped him, i tickled him until he couldn't breathe and four guys jumped on me, my 50th birthday. it was kill the old guy. >> hours later, he went on larry king and he said that he

never groped anyone. he also claimed he was forced out of office because he opposed the president's healthcare plan. the white house is denying that. >> a west springfield man has been charged with child pornography. 59-year-old charles dillon surrendered to police on monday. however, this is not dillon's first brush with the law. in october, police arrested him for failing to reregister as a sex offender. investigators say dillon set up a website called piano dreams studio, advertising piano lessons for children. rescue crews near fort lauderdale are working to free four workers from a drawbridge. the men were making repairs when it got stuck in the upright position. at this point, there are no reports that anyone has been injured. traffic leading to the bridge, of course, is being rerouted.

bad news coming from toyota. it is expanding another recall. at the same time, the company is dealing with supposed run away priuses. kristen fisher is tracking the latest of toyota's troubles. >> first, i want to tell you about these new recalls. toyota is expanding its recall on the tundra pickup truck to include all models from 2000 to 2003 and the issue here is excessive rush buildup. it could cause spare tires, even the gas tank to drop to the road while the car is in drive. so that is the problem with the tundra. now let's talk about the prius. in just two days, there have been two reported cases of sudden acceleration in two priuses. the first on monday, a 2008 prius accelerated out of control on a california freeway. just yesterday, authorities released the tames of the driver calling 911. take a listen. >> my car can't slow down. >> you can't slow down? >> no. >> is your accelerator stuck?

>> yes? >> yeah. i tried to pull it back. >> police then pulled alongside that run away prius and told the driver what to do. the car eventually rolled to a stop. so that was the first problem, then just yesterday, another sudden acceleration case involved a prius. the 56-year-old driver said he was simply pulling out of a driveway when her 2005 prius shot across the road and shot into a stone wall. she walked away with only minor injuries. federal safety investigators are now investigating both of those cases. in arlington, kristen fisher, 9news now. >> president obama is meeting with haiti's president and first lady at the white house today. it is believed that the haitian president, renee preval will ask president obama for $1 billion in aid. preval's country is struggling to return to normal after the massive earthquake in january. in several nations committed to

helping haiti rebuild will meet in new york next month to discuss the financial obligations. right now, haiti's first lady is wrapping up a tour of george washington university. while she was there, she layed out plans for the reconstruction and reorganization of haiti's educational system. haiti's first lady earned her master's degree in business administration from the university in 1988. the usns comfort is leaving haiti today for baltimore. you may remember that our reporter, scott broome, spent several days on that ship. for the past seven weeks, doctors on the ship took thousands of haitians injured by the earthquake. the comfort is expected back in baltimore next friday after a stop in norfolk, virginia. >> well this is expected to be a busy week for weddings in the

district. another full slate of same-sex marriages have been planned for today. the washington post reports a marriage industry could develop, which would mean jobs and tax money for the city. despite the threat of protests, the first same-sex marriages went off yesterday without a hitch. among the newlyweds, reggie stanley and rocky galloway. they say they don't want to be -- they claim that they are just like any other couple. >> people want to focus on the differences between our families, but our families are as normal as any other family. we have dinner together, get the kids in bed by a certain time. >> now one of the next battles here might be with the federal government. because uncle sam does not recognize married same-sex couples. which will have an impact on their benefits. still to come when 9news now returns, caught on tape.

police are looking for a second suspect and the brutal attack of a man in a wheelchair. plus, are you looking to revitalize your love life? maybe you should try getting some more sleep. we'll explain when we come back.

a man in the wheelchair was attacked and it was all caught on tape. police have one suspect in custody, but they are looking

for another one. after this attack last night in australia. investigators say the two men cornered a man in an elevator, they beat him and they took his money. the victim is recovering in a hospital. loudoun county has the highest medium household income in the nation. and five other local areas come in the top ten. here are the numbers from forbes.com. the median income in loudoun county is over $110,000. followed by howard county third. fairfax city comes in sixth. arlington is ninth. and montgomery county makes up the top ten. speaking of montgomery county, that water main break that occurred in wheaten yesterday has been fixed. university boulevard is open. wss crews had that water main fixed by midnight. >> coming up next, howard and

the forecast. >> yeah, jc, lots going on. a very active weather pattern across the country and a big impact on the rest of our weather for this week. i'll have the seven-day forecast coming up when 9news now returns.

the cbs producer accused of trying to extort late night talk show host, david letterman is free on bail until he is sentenced. joe halderman admitted in court yesterday that he tried to blackmail letterman out of millions of dollars. the cbs producer pleaded guilty in exchange for six months in prison, five years probation, and 1,000 hours of community service. halderman says he is sorry about the whole thing. >> i apologize to mr. letterman, his family, to stephanie burkett, her family, and my friends and family. >> after his arrest, halderman claimed that he was only trying to sell a screen play to letterman, but in court yesterday, he recanted that claim. >> critics like to say that our american culture is obsessed with sex. but a new study suggests os. derek mcginty reports, a lot of people are just too tired to get in the mood. >> the national sleep foundation survey finds that close to one in four americans

married or living with someone are nonetheless too exhausted to have sex with that person. >> in order to be intimate with someone, you have to be well rested, have good energy, and be in a good mood. and sleep determines all of those things. >> findings do not surprise the medical director at centre for sleep and weight disorders. she says you may think you do fine with just five hours a night, but you're wrong. >> we are very powerful as human beings. we can get by on less sleep, but we aren't necessarily going to feel good. >> or, feeling like doing the wild thing, but then again, you knew that. >> given how busy our society is and keeps people, lots of people don't find time to eat, much less have sex. >> just want to go to sleep, get some rest, and relax. no time for really getting down, i guess. >> you have to make a choice. some people prefer the good sleep. >> that's not going to happen

to me. never, ever. >> in one in four are too tired, perhaps the other three are persevering. >> i'm tired now, but that's not going to stop me. >> derek mcginty, 9news now. >> the sleep foundation surveyed a thousand people between the ages of 25 and 60. their study was designed to measure differences in sleep habits, among ethnic groups, but the responses on fatigue and sex were the same across the board. >> well starting today, you can see the gown that first lady, michelle obama wore to the balls. the creation will become the center of a new gallery at the american history museum. for decades, the first lady's collection has been one of the smithsonian's most popular attractions. and the first lady attended yesterday's unveiling. >> i am very honored and very humbled, but i have to say that i'm also a little embarrassed by all the fuss being made over

my dress. like many of you, i'm not used to people wanting to put things i've worn on display. >> the first lady display at the smithsonian has been in existence since 1914. more schools are trying to figure out what to do about all those snow days that they had last month. montgomery county is asking the state to waive five of those days and if approved, the school year would end june 16, as planned. the state is already approved snow day waivers for prince georges, and st. mary's counties. the officer who brandished his gun during a snowball fight is now facing a ten-day suspension. this is video from december. the offduty officer, detective michael baylor became angry during a playful snowball fight

that occurred at 14th and u streets northwest. the order of police says that bailor just learned about the proposed suspension, but he is going to appeal it. and internal report says that he acted quote, confrontational. there's been no comment from the police department. now we don't have to worry about snow for a while. >> thank goodness. nice weather. >> nice, but it's going downhill. >> i know. >> you know what's going up, though, the pollen is going up. tree pollen. bad news allergy sufferers just came in moments ago. our allergy update for you. on the tree pollen has jumped into the high category today. we are still worried about that and mold is still low. hey, let's show you what's happening with our forecast here, the next three days looking like this. temperatures, well, they are on the mild side. low, maybe mid 60s in a few spots. we will get close to 60 here. yesterday, we got to 64. now tomorrow, even late

tonight, a couple showers return. better chance of rain on friday, as temperatures slowly wind down into the upper 50s to finish out the workweek. this afternoon, mostly cloudy, slim chance for a shower. 60 to 65 south. southeast winds 5 to 10. then tonight, mostly cloudy, some showers are possible after midnight. winds light southeast, 6:10 on the sunset. it will be after 7:00 next week. showers move in, could be by noontime, high temperatures near 60, and you know, if things slow down, it will be late afternoon. before we head home, the rain will be moving in from the southwest. sun is up 6:26, setting at 6:11 p.m. a little bit of moisture came in. light showers and sprinkles here. otherwise, mostly cloudy and mild. winchester is up to 60. it's 66 at the valley regional airport. 56 here at national.

while the water keeping the river cooler at 48. jan was 49. locally, we have 54 from arlington. rockville, 58. croften, 57. while it's only 53 on the bay. out to the west in fairfax county, fairfax is 55. springfield is 56, as is great falls and our friends in leesburg checking in with 57 degrees. winds haven't been much of a factor today. they will stay at the southeast wind. so much going on across the country. big storm here. that's obvious, little snow there. big thunderstorms across the south. alabama coming in at georgia and south carolina now. heavy rain there. another piece of energy, look snow in parts of west texas. down to dallas. and yet another piece of energy, bringing the showers down through the california coast. so a very active spring weather pattern is with us and that's going to keep us unsettled for much of the rest of the week. here we go with our 9 future

cast. here we are around midnight, some showers really building across virginia, trying to get closer to us. some of that will move in during the overnight. tomorrow morning, we could have some wet weather around for the morning rush, however, the afternoon rush could have some heavier rains falling, as we get into 8:00 p.m. now, raining just about everywhere. we get into friday morning, things start to lift north of us. midday here, you get into some breaks, but more energy out to the west, that will be headed this way. we could see more rain develop. saturday, i think we are going to get some thunderstorms around here. with all that rain coming with the snow melt, we already have flood watches up from western maryland across al gayny and garrett counties, much of west virginia. anticipating the rain and the snow melt, wouldn't be surprised that this flood watch got expanded to the east, as we headed into saturday, maybe even friday and saturday. so we are going to watch this situation very carefully. let's talk about the seven-day

forecast. we are mild today and tomorrow. not too bad temperature wise, but more rain and showers coming in. by saturday, some thunder possible. sunday, fewer showers, 55 and isolated sprinkles monday and tuesday and don't forget, saturday night into sunday morning, spring forward as daily savings time returns. we'll be back, jc is coming into the kitchen. 9news now at noon returns in just a moment.

spring is in the air and we thought that today we would teach you how to make lemonade.

you say everybody knows how to make lemonade, not the way glenn does. the owner and chef at nag restaurant, located 1600 rhode island avenue. actually, it is scott's circle and he has four different lemonades. go right ahead. >> thank you for having me. 2009 brought us a lot of lemons. isn't that what they say? what to make with lemons, make lemonade. since we had so many lemons, we decided to change it up a bit. lemonade is described as juice or vinegar or some kind of acidity with simple syrups. equal parts water and sugar and bring that to a boil. that gives you an idea. what you are going to do from there, once you have equal parts simple syrup and equal part asisty. you would add your lemon juice and lime juice. what you can do from there, is this your grandmother's lemonade. is this exactly how she would

make it. there's any combinations here. we'll do a little bit of blueberry and rose m mary. >> now that is different. >> sure. >> and the next one? >> this is a strawberry and basil. >> that sounds good. >> sure. this is a cucumber and mint. pretty much a straightforward one there. and then i like to add a little bit of soda water when we are done. first, you have to do muddling. get those blueberries broken up. sort of gives it a nice color and releases the flavor into the drink. pretty much from there, going to add a little ice. top it with a touch of soda. > soda water. i didn't know that. that's new. >> and you are all set. you want to keep that syrup a little on the high side. when you are adding ice and soda water, it becomes more balanced flavor between the sweet and the salty. now another thing i like to

play around, this is something i have done recently this year is rhubarb mix and taking acidity and sugar and you get something like this, we are going to add it in here. >> chef, people can go to our website, wusa9.com and get all these recipes and again, nag, 1600 rhode island avenue. ♪

there's the other stuff. ♪ and then there's kraft macaroni & cheese. ♪ kraft has more cheese than those other guys. no wonder they call it the cheesiest!